The Frame-Up (The Golden Arrow #1)(69)

“From your boyfriend?”

I chance a look over my shoulder. We have maybe ten seconds before Matteo can look in the front door. We’ll never make the stairway.

“We need somewhere where he can’t see us!” I’m hysterical now. “I’m not supposed to be here, and I’m definitely not supposed to be telling you everything I know about the case.”

Lawrence grabs me around the waist, opens the door to our left, and all but throws me in. He whips the door almost closed behind us, then stands along the wall so he can peer out through the crack.

“Did he see us?” I pant the words, collapsed on the floor against a rack of clothes or coats. I can’t tell in the dark.

Lawrence is silent for a long minute. “He looked in, knocked. Now he’s going around the back.” I can see only a sliver of his face. The room is pitch-dark otherwise. “Did you lock your bike up back there?”

“Yeah.” Inwardly I groan. “Maybe he won’t notice.”

“Maybe.” Lawrence sighs, shuts the door, and flicks on the light. “If they have a warrant, we can just say we didn’t hear them knocking. You were helping me sort my costumes or something.” He peeks back out. “But I don’t think he saw us.”

My mind goes directly to the warehouse. Last time we spoke, Matteo mentioned that they were dropping surveillance. But L needs to know what he’s getting into. “If we do this, things could get sketchy. It involves breaking and entering. And perhaps narcotic smuggling.”

“Average Monday night for me.”

I laugh. “I shouldn’t get you involved.”

“Honey, that’s what real family is. They’re the people you call when the bodies pile up.”

I hesitate again. I want him to be fully aware of the dangers. “There’s a dirty cop. Someone leaked case info already. I’m really worried that if you go in for questioning, someone bad may recognize you. I think you should take a work vacation. I’ll see how the investigation is going. See if I can figure out who’s leaking info.”

“You want me to evade police?”

“Not evade exactly. Well-timed trip to visit your drag mom?”

Lawrence thinks for a moment. “I can lay low. I’ve done it before.”

I sigh. “Okay. Let’s do this thing. We’ll call anything related to this ridiculousness . . . Operation Janeway, okay? Like a code word.”

“You know what this means, don’t you?” Lawrence has his usual gleam and sass back, seeming more excited than worried about this whole fiasco.

“That we’re both terrible decision makers and likely going to end up in jail for this, but at least we’ll have each other?”

“Better.” Lawrence flashes me a big smile. “It means that we need to go through my closet. We are going to be the fiercest, most fabulous crime-fighting duo this town has ever seen.”





CHAPTER 21

Worrying about work should be illegal while your best friend is in hiding, your pretend boyfriend keeps asking if you’ve heard from him, and you’re analyzing every fact you know about a thirty-year-old murder in your spare time. I’ve spent most of the last three days avoiding Matteo. I think he’s convinced it’s because of what he said after our kiss and the fact that he’s trying to track down Lawrence to question him. I know it’s because I’m lying to Matteo. Not that I know where Lawrence is exactly, but the fact that he’s missing . . . that’s all me. Instead of sketching, I’ve been researching obsessively about the drug culture surrounding Casey Senior’s time of death.

I made some really interesting discoveries. Namely that Detective Rideout’s father had been questioned in connection with one of the drug busts right before Casey was killed. He was cleared of all charges by the police chief, but it gave me a little tingle of foreboding.

There’s a story here.

The fact that Rideout’s father and the police chief were chums isn’t lost on me. The chief, Tony Munez, became the star of Los Angeles for pulling off the biggest drug bust in LA history. Several rings, several head honchos, all at once. There was a freaking parade in his honor. So when he vouched for Rideout’s father, the city dropped the charges. Rideout’s father retired, but the Rideout I know trained directly with Tony Munez until the older man retired as well. Talk about hero worship.

“Paging Dr. House.”

My head whips up, and I come face-to-face with Kyle. The red ball I’ve been throwing at the wall bounces away across the room. I forgot I was even throwing it.

“Sorry, was I bothering you?” I ask.

Simon’s sarcastic reply comes from behind me: “A slightly better noise to work to than jackhammering, but not much.”

Whoops. “I’m sorry, guys. I’ve got writer’s block.”

“We can tell.” Kyle’s annoyed expression melts, and he reaches forward to grasp my shoulder. “We’ve all been shaken up. This week has been crazy with that lunatic running around burning down buildings.”

It’s easier to agree, so I nod. “Yeah. That’s it. I think I need some fresh air. I just can’t get this villain right for the Hero Girls issue.”

“Well, if you’re stuck when you come back, let me take a look.”